Does anyone use their archtop with a floater for electric guitar duties?

[mattblair]

I'm sorely tempted by an Epiphone Triumph with a mini humbucker floater installed - I love the archtop sound and feel but owning a lot of gear is something I'm actively trying to avoid so I'd like my archtop to be able to fill in for church electric guitar with a bit of grit and delay duties when required.

Ive never owned a guitar with a floater - only set in - so I'm worried this may not be possible? I've read the Kent Armstrong hand wound PAF is very set in sounding? I don't mind switching electronics if I have to, this guitar currently has a KA mini humbucker attached to the pickguard. Or should I be just looking for something with a set in?

[destinytot]

Hi. The humbuckers on my Ibanez are quiet compared to the floater on my archtop. Here they are on video:

[Greentone]

My very favorite sounding guitars for jazz all feature floating pickups: (1) the Gibson Johnny Smith with floating mini-humbucker, (2) the D'Angelico New Yorker and Excel with DeArmond Rhythm Chief floating pickup (this is just a sensational sounding rig--listen to 50s Johnny Smith records), (3) my Unity 100th Anniversary Custom with a Shadow Electronics SH AZ 48 Atila Zoller floating pickup.

It is just about impossible to make a bad jazz sound out of these three guitars. For my money, only the Gibson ES-150 with 3-screw, two cobalt magnet pickup compares well with these guitars.

Oh, let me add a fourth--a Gibson Super-400 with a DeArmond:

[mr. beaumont]

I guess it would really depend how much volume and grit you're going after.

Generally, the more distorted a signal gets, the muddier it sounds on a neck pickup...so you might miss the bridge for more "crispness."

The other factor would be feedback, which could be an issue.

Personally, this is one one of those times where having more than one instrument would NOT qualify as superfluous, in my opinion.

So just picture a diminutive version of me, on your shoulder, dressed in red, holding a little pitchfork and whispering "buy a tele."

[Greentone]

+1 mr. beaumont

What I didn't say before is that my other guitar is a Telecaster. I use it in all my higher volume applications. If stage volume is going to be high enough that I think I am apt to even think about the possibility of feedback, I use either my laminated-body, double-humbucker archtop, or I use my Telecaster (which gets a great jazz tone).

The other thing I didn't say was if the venue is one in which a high-dollar guitar is going to be exposed to...uh...a "party atmosphere"--potentially rambunctious revelers in the house--I will also use the Telecaster. The wear and tear that I view with some fondness on a solid body really drives me nuts on a decent archtop.

[mr. beaumont]

Plus, lets face it, tele falls off a stand...I dunno, maybe you gotta tune one or two strings?

Your L5 falls off a stand...actually, I'd probably have no idea what happens to the guitar, they'd be carting me away on a stretcher.

[pingu]

I just saw Nigel price doing
Some nice gritty blues with a floater
on his modern D'a

It all worked fine ,
Seen jim Mullen do this too on his Aria floater
all sounded good

So it can be done ...

[jazzbow]

I've seen two 4x12's topple over and partly land on a Telecaster and all that happened was top E went out of tune and the selector switch bent over. The owner left the switch bent as a battle scar. It still worked.

Floating pickup jazz guitar for an intimate club gig and Telecaster for the arena masses.

Lol

[rkwestcoast]

My pedal board has the following effects:

Boss OC3 Octave Pedal
EH Freeze
TC Corona
TC Helix
TC Dark Matter (distortion)
TC Ditto Looper x2
Joyo American Sound
Joyo Digital Delay



Main guitar is a Peerless Monarch with a floating pick-up - alternative guitar is an Ibanez AS100 - but for sound, feel & playability use the Monarch through a Mambo 10" Wedge - so can go for a straight ahead jazz sound - across the spectrum of overdrive / distortion; fusion type sounds and delay - rarely have problems with feedback - would suggest you try a jazz box with a floater and the effects you want and see if it works...........happy hunting!

[mattblair]

Thank you everyone! Reading all your replies on my way home from work certainly gave me a lot of food for thought and brightened up the commute! My heart really is telling me to grab the Epiphone so I think if it comes to it, I may just have to invest in something solid body too for when the needs must!

[mattblair]

So I hope this is t going to far off topic but after contacting the seller for some more photos I wanted to share them here and get a second opinion.

I wanted to see how the electrics were installed and was a little disappointed to see the end pin wasn't just changed to a jack - but a second hole was drilled:


I also wanted to enquire about action and bridge height - to me it looks like the action on the bass side is a little high but the bridge is maxed out? From reading on here that is a bad sign, yes?



Other than that (and a small crack which is stable apparently) it looks fantastic and has me sorely tempted to take the risk. The price is £1650 shipped to my door and I can't think of another all solid vintage archtop available for that kind of scratch! Can someone with a bit more experience with vintage instruments than myself chime in and talk me into / out of it?? Thanks!

[sgosnell]

You can lower the bridge more by either sanding the base, or the bottom of the saddle. The saddle is easier. You don't have to go all the way across the saddle, just enough to clear the wheel. That wouldn't be my first option, but it's an option. Tweaking the truss rod to remove some of the relief might also help. In general, less relief requires a higher bridge. I would start with the truss rod, and only if I couldn't get an acceptable action with no buzzing would I start with the saddle. I usually try for the minimum relief that I can get with no buzz anywhere. Too much backbow can cause buzzing on the lower frets. This buzzing can also be the result of a nut cut too deeply. Getting good action is a compromise all over the place, and lots of things can affect it - nut, saddle, bridge, truss rod, etc. It's all intimately interconnected, so start by trying the easiest things first. Move on to irreversible changes only when absolutely necessary.

[jazzbow]

How do.

An archtop of this age with its floating bridge height at its lowest setting and still showing a high action could mean either a bowed neck that needs a truss rod tweak or a neck reset.

As there's no truss rod cover and by the age of the guitar I would think its got a box section tube running the length of the neck. this is set in place during its manufacture.
The laminate construction of the neck is to stop twisting.

So therefore I surmise that you're looking at a neck reset.

It's not a huge expense to put right but finding the guy with the skills to do this is a pain in arse.

The guitar itself is a fantastic piece and woul offer you many years of pleasure so factor in a reset and try to get some money knocked off.

Good luck matey.

[sgosnell]

You're right, there is no truss rod cover. I missed that. One can try lowering the bridge a little more by taking a little off the bottom of the saddle, but the action may still be high because of the bow. It could also be the top sinking a little, but it still looks pretty good in the photo, so a neck reset may be necessary. Difficult to say with just these photos.

[Little Jay]

I see what looks like a gap/split at the heel/body connection....... that might explain the high action and bridge in the lowest position. This one might need a neck reset. I would pass..... (or at least not buy without thorough inspection. Or a big discount!)

[Little Jay]

You're right, there is no truss rod cover. I missed that. One can try lowering the bridge a little more by taking a little off the bottom of the saddle, but the action may still be high because of the bow. It could also be the top sinking a little, but it still looks pretty good in the photo, so a neck reset may be necessary. Difficult to say with just these photos.

If the top is sinking the action would get lower and the bridge would typically be in a higher position.

[jazzbow]

There's nothing wrong with getting a neck reset, plus the epiphone looks right on the button. But I would expect a discount for the work needed.

[jazzbow]

I wouldn't mess with the bridge. The bridge should be on its lowest setting with the strings laying flat on the frets and measuring no more than 1 imperial inch or 25 metric millimetres from foot to underside of strings.